Coin controlled dispensing apparatus for bottled beverages



E. A. TERHUNE July 3, 1956 S U mi A R A W S A@ M A LR SE NV EE PDU wm Dm WT .LO .LB DO R TO NF O C N I O C 2 Sheets-snee t l Filed Nov. 22, 195.?,

FIG.

FIE

INVENTOR. EDWARD A.TERHUNE 35T@ f,

ATTORNEY.

Judy 3, 1956 E. A. TERHUNE G01N CONTROLLED DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR BOTTLED @AVERAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 22, 1952 INVENToR. EDWARD A. TERHONE 35W ATTORNEY.

COIN CNTRULLED DISPENSING APPARATUS FR BTTLED BEVERAGES Edward A. Terhune, Philadelphia, Pa. Application November 22, 1952, Serial No. 322,023

ll Claim. (Cl. 221--152) This invention relates to coin controlled dispensing apparatus for bottled beverages.

Various types of dispensing apparatus have heretofore been proposed for bottled beverages but most of these are complicated in construction. There is an attendant lack of reliability in use and the necessity for servicing to maintain such apparatus in satisfactory operating condition. The complication in construction of the dispensers heretofore available has made the cost exceedingly high.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide coin controlled dispensing apparatus which is simple in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, free from likelihood of breakdowns in use and which at the same time affords adequate protection to the vendor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the character aforesaid having an improved character of bottle releasing mechanism.

Itis a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the character aforesaid having bottle releasing mechanism which is easy to install, which does not require servicing and which is easy for the vendee or purchaser to operate.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide control structure for coin controlled dispensing apparatus for bottled beverages by which such apparatus of the rack type may be converted from a selective vender to a single flavor machine, or may be converted to reduce the number of selections of flavors of beverages available to the vendee.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved bottled beverage dispensing machine of the rack type in which the control of the sale of the bottled beverages is made available to the vendor without reducing the total sales capacity of the machine.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claim.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of a cabinet having dispensing apparatus in accordance with the invention mounted therein;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View taken approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the States Patent O structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a storage cabinet 10 is illustrated having a vertical front wall 11, vertical side walls 12, a vertical rear wall 13, and a horizontal top lid 14 hingedly mounted on the rear wall 13 to permit of easy access to the interior of the cabinet 10. The walls 11, 12 and 13 and the lid 14 may be of insulated construction to retard the loss of cooling effect Within the interior of the cabinet 10..

The lower portion of the cabinet 10 is preferably provided with suitable arrangements for cooling the interior and the bottles placed therein. As the cooling apparatus forms no essential part of the present invention it has not been illustrated.

Within the interior of the cabinet 10 and at a predetermined level below the top of the cabinet 10 a plurality of parallel spaced bars 17 are provided, having downwardly extending stilfening and reinforcing walls 15 secured thereto, reinforcing and holding bars 1S being provided thereabove and connected thereto. At one set of ends of the bars 17 and in spaced relation thereto a rack bar 19 is provided, in spaced relation to the ends of the bars 17.

The bars 17 and the bar 19 are spaced to provide a series of parallel storage channels or slots Ztl communicating with a delivery channel or slot 21, the channels or slots 20 and 21 being of a width to support bottles by the enlarged portions at the upper ends of the necks and below the closures of the bottles to be dispensed.

At the forward end of the delivery channel or slot 21, a delivery control disc 25 is provided having a slot 26 radially disposed therein of a width corresponding to the width of the channels or slots 20 and 21 so that a bottle slid thereinto will be supported at the neck enlargement of the bottle.

The forwardmost bar 17 has an arcuate cut out portion 17a to accommodate the disc 25 and in front thereof and at a location disposed preferably at 90 to the delivery slot 21, an access opening 16 is provided for the removal of a bottle delivered thereto by the disc 25 as hereinafter explained.

The disc 25 is mounted on and secured to the upper end of a delivery gate shaft 28. The shaft 23 is supported in any desired manner, such as by a bearing bracket 29 carried by the cabinet wall 12, a spacing washer 30 being interposed between the bracket 29 and the disc 25.

The shaft 28 preferably has secured thereto a pair of plates 31, disposed so as to be substantially Y-shaped in horizontal cross section and centered below the slot 26, the space between the plates 31 providing a chamber for an individual bottle to be dispensed. The plates 31 prevent undesired swinging of a bottle therebetween and prevent unauthorized access to channels 20 and 21.

The lower end of the shaft 28 has a shaft actuating arm 33 rigidly secured thereto, the arm 33 having a hole 34 for the reception of a pin 35. The shaft actuating arm 33 has pivotally connected thereto, by the pin 35, a connecting arm 36.

On the front wall 11 of the cabinet l0, and extending therethrough, a coin actuated slide 40 of any preferred type is mounted, with a coin receiving box 41 therebelow. The coin slide 40 illustrated is a type now available on the market and has a slidable plate 42 with an opening 43 for the reception of a coin, the plate 42y being slidable only to a limited extent, about two thirds of its possible travel, unless the proper coin is inserted, whereupon it may be slid inwardly for the full distance of its travel to deliver the coin to the coin box 41.

The plate 42 has the connecting arm 36 pivotally connected thereto by a pivot pin 36a to effect a tuning movement of the shaft 28.

It will be noted that a partial turning movement may be imparted to the shaft 28 by the partial movement of the slidable plate 42 but this is not sufficient to turn the disc 25 to a position so that the slot 26 communicates with the access opening 16. Upon the insertion of the proper coin in the opening 42 so that full movement 0f the plate 42 and of the disc 2,5 can be effected, the disc 25 and the slot 26 therein are moved through an arc of 90 to bring the slot 26 into a freely accessible position at the opening 16.

For the protection of the vendee from loss of money and in order to prevent actuation of the disc 25, and of the plate 42, when no bottle is supported in the recess 26, a latch lever 45 is provided, pivotally mounted below the rack strip 19 by a pivot pin 46. The lever 45 has a hooked portion 47 for locking engagement with a lock pin 48 on the underside of the disc 25 and has an end portion 45a which extends partially across the recess 26. A spring 49 is provided for normally urging the lever 45 to its locked position.

Upon the insertion of the neck of a bottle in the recess 26, the engagement of the bottle with the end portion 45a moves the lever 45 to a release position in which the hooked portion 47 is out of position for engagement with the locking pin 48.

For the further protection of the vendee from the loss of money and to prevent the return of the disc 25 to its initial position unless a bottle carried by the disc 25 has been removed therefrom, an outgoing catch 50 is provided, mounted on a vertical pin 53a carried in the frontmost rack strip 17. The catch 50 is normally impelled by a spring 53aengaging therewith and with the rack strip 17 to the position illustrated. Upon rotation of the disc 25 with a bottle carried thereby the catch 50 is swung counterclockwise by the bottle to permit the bottle to pass. Upon an attempt to move the disc 25 with a bottle carried thereby in a counterclockwise direction, the bottle engages the end of the catch 50 and further turning movement of the disc 25 will be prevented.

lf it is desired to restrict a dispenser having a plurality of slots to the dispensing of a single flavor, or fewer flavors than the number of slots 20 would accommodate, or to restrict removal of all the bottles from one slot 20 before the bottles in the adjoining slot are permitted to be removed, one or more control gates- 60 may be provided below the slot 20 to be controlled or restricted.

The gates 60 preferably each include a longitudinal wall plate 61 having at the end thereof and normal thereto a lateral wall plate 62 which in its upper position does not permit free access to the contiguous slot 20. The wall plates 61 are pivotally connected to the'walls 15 by spring hinges 63 which urge the gates 60 downwardly.

The plates 61 have inclined plates 64 integrally connected thereto with upwardly extending rim portions 65 for engagement with the bottles in the contiguous slot 20 and thus holding the gates 60 against the force exerted by the spring hinges 63.

ln the lower position of a gate 60 free access to the contiguous slot 20 may be had. After a slot 20 has been filled with bottles, the gate 60 is swung upwardly to permit the insertion of bottles in the next slot, these latter bottles holding the gate 60 in its upper position to interpose the wall plate-62 across at the end of the first mentioned row and prevent access to the bottles in that row until all the bottles have been removed from the second mentioned row.

The mode of operation will, it is thought, be apparent from the foregoing but will be summarized briefly.

Assuming that the storage cabinet 10 has been lled with bottled beverages with the bottles supported by their necks on the rack bars 17, and the contents of the storage cabinet 10 have been cooled, the storage cabinet 1t? is ready for use.

A purchaser or vendee approaching the storage cabinet 10 raises the lid 14. The tops of the bottles, with their identifying crown caps are then visible. The purchaser slides a bottle from the storage channel or slot 20 to the delivery channel or slot 21 and therealong to and into the recess 26 in the control disc 25.

The selection of bottles from the storage channels or slots 20 will be restricted as to those storage channels or slots controlled by gates 61.

Upon the insertion of a bottle neck in the recess 26 the latch lever 45 is moved to unlocked position with respect to the pin 48.

lf now the slidable plate 42 of the coin slide 40 is moved inwardly without any coin being inserted, the plate 42 will only move inwardly for a limited distance which, while effecting partial rotation of the disc 25, will not move the recess 26 to a position where the bottle can be removed at the access opening 16.

Upon the insertion of a proper coin in the coin opening 43, the slidable plate 42y can be moved inwardly to deposit the coin in the coin box 41 and to the full length of its movement. The plate 42, through the arms 36 and 33, actuates the shaft 28 with the desired angular or turning movement to move the recess 26 to the access opening 16.

if, before removal of the bottle at the access opening 16, an attempt is made to return the bottle, by movement of the plate 42, the outgoing catch 50, which permitted movement of the bottle thereby, is now in its obstructing position.

Upon the removal of the bottle at the access opening 16, the dispenser is ready for reuse upon withdrawal of the slide plate 42.

I claim:

In dispensing apparatus for bottled beverages, a support, a horizontally disposed rotatable member for delivering a bottle, said rotatable member having a bottle neck receiving and supporting recess extending inwardly from one side edge thereof and movable from a receiving position to a delivery position, a shaft for actuating said rotatable member, spaced members below said rotatable member providing a space beiow said recess for the reception of a bottle, a latch member carried by said support having a portion intersecting said recess and movable by the insertion of a bottle neck into said recess, andy a latch engaging member carried by said rotatable member for engagement by said latch member when said portion is unmoved.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,744,679 Sapp 1an. 21, 19.30 2,114,246 Baker Apr. 12, 1938 2,174,712 Warner Oct. 3, 1939 2,245,372 Van Tuyl June 10, 19,41 2,258,409 Cunningham Oct. 7', 1941 2,260,734 Baker Oct. 28, 1941 2,332,214 Forsthoefel Oct. 1,9, 1943 2,514,681 Stewart July ll, 19,50 2,628,875 Ossanna Feb. 17, 1953 2,637,612 Warner May 5, 1953 2,661,992 Harris Dec. 8, 1953 

